How to Layer Skincare Products from Biossance
Properly layering your skincare products is key to ensuring that they live up to their maximum potential. When products are not layered correctly, skin tends to be dry, uneven, and can end up feeling greasy or sticky. Do it right and your skin will feel plump, hydrated, and supple. Understanding how to layer skincare can be daunting, but with the right guidance, you can ensure your skin reaps all the benefits.
Morning Skincare Layering Guide
Step 1: Cleanse
Whether you cleanse your face in the morning depends on your skin type and personal preference. Technically, your face isn’t really dirty because you’ve been sleeping all night. But some people - especially those with oily or combination skin - may prefer an invigorating morning cleanse if they’re feeling oily, or simply craving that refreshing feeling of freshly cleansed skin. We recommend that all skin types use our Squalane and Amino Aloe Gentle Cleanser as a morning face wash. It works into a satisfying lather, digging deep to rid pores of excess sebum while calming the skin using organic aloe vera juice.
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Step 2: Tone
As a general rule, “you should always apply products from thinnest to thickest,” Kherata explains. That means liquids first and oils last (with the exception of sunscreen, which should always be applied last). When applied in this order, the products are able to absorb more effectively into the deeper layers of the epidermis. Thicker, heavier products are made of larger molecules and will not penetrate as deeply into the skin, so they should be layered on top to lock the thinner products in. If you have oily or combination skin, we recommend our BHA Pore Minimizing Toner. This alcohol-free toner uses white willowbark extract, a natural beta-hydroxy acid, to gently exfoliate and resurface the skin without stripping it. Meanwhile, sugarcane-derived squalane provides added hydration, helping to strengthen the skin’s moisture barrier.
If you’re on the dry or sensitive side, jump into your morning skincare routine with our Hyaluronic Acid Facial Mist. This fast-absorbing hyaluronic acid spray is the ideal morning pick-me-up and lays a solid foundation for radiant, hydrated skin. You can also spritz it throughout the day for refreshing hydration.
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Step 3: Eyes
“Our eyes are very sensitive, so it’s important to apply your eye treatments first and then follow through with your face serum to avoid irritation,” Kherata says.
While both of our eye products can be applied morning and night, we particularly love using the Squalane + Peptide Eye Gel in the AM because the peptide-rich formula helps to instantly provide a well-rested look. The weightless gel helps to depuff sleepy eyes and reduces the appearance of dark circles.
When your eyes need a little extra love in the morning, you can also layer both of our eye products. Apply our eye gel first, then top with our Squalane + Marine Algae Eye Cream for additional hydration and lift.
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Step 4: Treat with Serums
It’s not necessary to use more than one Biossance serum at a time, as all contain powerful active ingredients that work best alone. Instead, we recommend alternating between our Vitamin C Dark Spot Serum and our Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping Serum.
Suitable for all skin types, our Vitamin C Dark Spot Serum gives skin an immediate boost of brightening while improving the look of dark spots and hyperpigmentation with our revolutionary blend of vitamin C and white shiitake mushroom. Work our Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping Serum into your morning rotation for instant plumping and hydration, plus improvement in skin firmness and elasticity.
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Step 5: Moisturize
Follow your targeted treatment by choosing a moisturizer based on your skin type and concerns.
If you’re oily, we recommend our Probiotic Gel Moisturizer. This weightless gel moisturizer quickly absorbs into the skin, providing a smooth, balanced complexion that’s perfectly prepped for any makeup you wish to apply. The probiotic-packed formula soothes, reduces redness, and even minimizes the effects of daytime stressors, making it ideal for morning use.
If you’d prefer a creamier product, our Omega Repair Cream is right up your alley. The omega fatty acids inside this luxe, whipped moisturizing cream restore and support the skin’s natural moisture barrier, boosting radiance without adding shine.
Both of these moisturizers have also earned the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance™, which recognizes product innovations that provide benefits, and improve the quality of life for people with eczema and sensitive skin.
By following these AM and PM routines and understanding how to layer skincare, you can maximize the effectiveness of each product and achieve a healthier, more radiant complexion.
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Step 6: Oil
One of the most common questions about layering is when to apply facial oils. The answer: Oils should always be applied last in your layering routine unless you’re topping everything off with sunscreen. “Oils lock everything in–they seal in all the skincare,” Kherata says.
Our best-selling Vitamin C Rose Oil gets the skin off to a glowing start in the morning with its hydrating, firming, and radiance-boosting benefits. You can also try mixing a drop of this oil with your foundation to boost glow and give makeup a dewy finish.
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Step 7: Sunscreen
Sunscreen is essential. Even if it’s raining outside, never leave your house without SPF,” Kherata says.
This crucial AM product provides the best production when applied as the final layer in your skincare routine before makeup application.
Our new, improved Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 provides invisible reef-safe protection using natural zinc oxide while defending skin against pollution and blue light damage, leading to a more even complexion. It also doubles as a makeup primer and has a sheer finish with no white cast.
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Step 8: Lips
Apply our Pro-Peptide™ Lip Perfector as the final step in your morning and evening skincare routine, or over lipstick for a boost of moisture and shine. A trio of hydrating ingredients delivers instant, deep, and long lasting moisture for plumper looking lips. Triple-treat your lips to deep 24 hour moisture while visibly improving plump and instantly smoothing appearance.
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Night Skincare Layering Guide
Step 1: Double Cleanse
Start your nighttime skincare routine with a hydrating double-cleanse. Double cleansing is like sweeping the floor before you mop. The goal is to get rid of the makeup and debris that’s sitting on top of your skin so you can effectively clean what’s underneath. Learn more about double cleansing.
We recommend starting with our Antioxidant Cleansing Oil to dissolve makeup and impurities. This luxurious oil cleanser swiftly and efficiently takes the day off, removing daily dirt and debris and dissolving all traces of makeup. Squalane keeps the skin moisturized, while antioxidants defend against daily stressors. Follow it with Amino Aloe Gentle Cleanser to clean out pores and soothe the skin after daytime exposure to UV rays and environmental pollutants.
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Step 2: Tone
Your AM essential translates seamlessly into your nighttime routine. Just remember: toner is meant to balance the skin’s pH and prepare it to receive skincare. It doesn’t actually clean the skin and is not a substitute for a second cleanse.
Step 3: Eyes
Our Marine Algae Eye Cream is all about delivering deep hydration, making it the peferfect evening eye treatment for every skin type. It expertly plumps the undereye area, reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and helps to reveal a lifted look come morning.
1242 reviews
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Step 4: Treat with Serums
While it’s not necessary to layer Biossance treatments, alternating between our Retinol Night Serum and our Lactic Acid Resurfacing Night Serum
Our innovative Retinol Night Serum uses two powerful retinoids, retinol and retinal, which we encapsulate for time-released delivery over the course of 8 hours. This minimizes irritation, improving skin on a cellular level without the redness and flaking commonly associated with retinoid use.
Use a pea-sized amount after toning, then follow with moisturizer. And start use gradually - just once or twice a week - before working up to alternate nights with our Lactic Acid Overnight Resurfacing Serum. Our best-selling lactic acid treatment is like an overnight magic trick for your skin. This formula gently exfoliates while you sleep, transforming the skin from dull to luminous in a single night. Apply it during your PM routine and wake up to noticeably smoother skin.
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Step 5: Moisturize
The whipped texture of our Omega Repair Cream helps to make it the perfect nourishing, restorative treatment for every skin type. The lipid and ceramide-rich formula provides deep hydration that plumps, smooths, and sets you up for a healthy-looking, well-moisturized complexion in the AM and all throughout the next day.
At night, aid your skin in its PM repair process with our most restorative repair cream, Ectoin Overnight Rescue. This rich, velvety night cream acts as a veil for your skin and includes ectoin, a powerful anti-stress molecule. It binds moisture to the skin, helping to regulate and repair the skin’s moisture barrier while protecting skin cells and enzymes from environmental damage. Meanwhile sleep-promoting magnesium and peptides help calm stress-inducing neurotransmitters to optimize skin’s capacity for repair. You’ll awaken to smoother, softer, plump, deeply hydrated and nourished skin that’s less sensitive with fewer fine lines and wrinkles.
2870 reviews
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Step 6: Lips
Apply our Pro-Peptide™ Lip Perfector as the final step in your morning and evening skincare routine, or over lipstick for a boost of moisture and shine. A trio of hydrating ingredients delivers instant, deep, and long lasting moisture for plumper looking lips. Triple-treat your lips to deep 24 hour moisture while visibly improving plump and instantly smoothing appearance.
650 reviews
$18.00
As a lifestyle writer and journalist, I love sharing my passion for ocean conservation and obsession with clean beauty. I’ve tried almost every trend and ingredient, and Biossance’s science-backed formulas are the only ones that consistently calm my reactive skin and make it smoother, clearer, and healthier. I’m so excited to be on this journey of skincare innovation with Biossance, and to share it with you!
